As indicated in the title of this article, within the process of alimony there are two benefits to which the persons obliged to pay alimony have access, when some special circumstance arises (loss of work, illness, disability or temporary decrease in income) and the person is unable to make the payment of the fixed installments on time.

When the obligor is in one of these circumstances, he/she may request before the respective Court, based on articles 31 and 32 of the Alimony Law, that he/she be granted one of these benefits (permission to look for work or payment in tracts), or both together.

It is important for the beneficiary of alimony to be clear that in order for the obligor to be granted any of these benefits, he/she must attach the proof that demonstrates the change of circumstances that lead to request these benefits and the judge will be in charge of granting, exceptionally, any of the two benefits, for which there must be a real and verifiable justification for the obligor to be able to access these benefits.

It should also be clear that these two benefits can be granted, or denied, without the Court giving a hearing to the opposing party, due to the principle of celerity indicated in the Alimony Law.

The benefit of seeking work or gainful employment may be granted for a period of one month, extendable for another equal period, within which the obligor will not have to pay the fixed quota. However, the unpaid period will have to be repaid in installments, which will be extraordinary to the payment of the amount initially fixed in the alimony.

This means that whoever is obliged to pay the pension will have a kind of “grace period”, however, this does not mean that the beneficiary will be left without the amount during that month or two months, since he/she will be obliged to pay it in installments, which will be fixed by the same Court in the resolution that grants the benefits.

Having said the above, in case the obligor does not comply with the reimbursement of the installments that were not paid by virtue of the granting of the benefits, the person entitled to receive the payment of alimony may file the corresponding claim before the Court.

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